For the past 15 years, Pinot Gris has been Oregon’s go-to white wine grape. With more than 15,000 tons harvested in 2015, Pinot Gris is even more dominant.

Pinot Gris, which experts believe is a mutation of Pinot Noir, is most famous in France’s Alsace region, but has also has gained international acclaim in Italy where it goes by the name Pinot Grigio.

For years, Chardonnay was Oregon’s white wine. This makes perfect sense because Pinot Gris and Chardonnay work well together in France’s Burgundy and Champagne regions. In 2000, however, Pinot Gris overtook Chardonnay in total tonnage in Oregon, and winemakers never looked back. Today, Oregon makes more than four times as much Pinot Gris as Chardonnay.

About Andy Perdue

Andy Perdue is the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine. He is a third-generation journalist who has worked at newspapers since the mid-1980s and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Eric Degerman and served as its editor-in-chief for 15 years. He is a frequent judge at international wine competitions. He is the author of "The Northwest Wine Guide: A Buyer's Handbook" (Sasquatch, 2003) and has contributed to four other books. He writes about wine for The Seattle Times. You can find him on Twitter and Google+.